Flooring to replace carpet in cockpit

They call me Tim

They call me Tim

Member
Jul 8, 2020
39
Boat Info
2011 280 Sundancer. We cruise on Lake Michigan out of Portage.
Engines
Mercruiser 8.2 Mag w/Bravo III drive
I just took delivery of my new (to me) 2011 280 Sundancer. The carpeting in the cockpit area is old and looking a little rough. A friend suggested I might look at some of the fake teak looking stick-down flooring. I think it has some give or padding to it.

Has anyone here used this? If so, what are your thoughts?
 
Search this forum for EVA foam or Sea Deck. Lots of pics, and stories. Ebay is a good DIY if you are a DIY kind of guy.
 

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I agree with 370Dancer, the EVA foam is very reasonably priced through Ebay
 
And if you want something less permanent, check out snapincarpet.com. They have all kinds of snap-in options these days. Great folks to work with.
 
SeaDek is pretty much the industry standard and it looks fantastic and functions well in every installation I’ve seen. They are made for an exact fit. The only downside is that it is expensive. I haven’t seen any of the DIY installations in person, but many here have had great luck and are very happy with it.
 
I have SeaDek throughout my boat, and generally we are pretty happy with it. It is good on the feet, and it cleans easily. I have had some pieces fail on the swim platform, but they are replacing it for me at no charge. The boat is 2 years old, and it was factory installed.

What I don't like about it is all the pieces. It has a lot of pieces, which also means a lot of spaces. Dirt tends to gather in the spaces between the pieces. And, it seems to kind of stick to the fiberglass, so about every 2 to 4 uses of the boat, I feel that I need to get out the brush and hose and clean the interior thoroughly. Otherwise, I'm bothered by all the dirt in those spaces. But, again it cleans easily, and it looks good! The foam is comfortable, it doesn't get very hot, and it definitely feels like it will last a long time.

Next boat interior will have something like the Infinity vinyl, and I'm hoping we can do it edge to edge with big enough pieces that we don't need snaps. And for the swim platform, I don't think there is a better product than SeaDek.
 
I bought a vinyl weave from snap-in carpet that looks like the traditional teak with dark caulking lines for our 280. We found it easy on the feet and now that we the real thing on our current boat, I can say with authority the look is realistic.
 
We are getting the Corinthian that looks like teak. But, we like the look overall, and prefer the vinyl "carpet" - but not just because it looks authentic or not. The lines break up the flat surfaces and add dimension to the boat.
 
We have Infinity woven vinyl on order from Corinthian with a 15% CSR discount. Helm, cockpit, both heads, and the 3 steps down into the salon. $1704.00 out the door delivered. We went wall to wall with aqua-loc backing (gray ribbed). The only metal snaps I'll install are for the steps, there will a few soft snaps (velcro) here & there, but with heaviness and the wall to wall I think we will be just fine...
R1313-Solar-Tan-A.png
 
The Bill Collector said:
We have Infinity woven vinyl on order from Corinthian with a 15% CSR discount. Helm, cockpit, both heads, and the 3 steps down into the salon. $1704.00 out the door delivered. We went wall to wall with aqua-loc backing (gray ribbed). The only metal snaps I'll install are for the steps, there will a few soft snaps (velcro) here & there, but with heaviness and the wall to wall I think we will be just fine...
R1313-Solar-Tan-A.png
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I'm looking at their stuff as well. I'll have way less to cover in my little boat and am just planning to do the cockpit area, not the cabin.
 
They call me Tim said:
I'm looking at their stuff as well. I'll have way less to cover in my little boat and am just planning to do the cockpit area, not the cabin.
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The Admiral would like some kind of vinyl plank in the salon, galley, and staterooms... I can't wait to start scraping up 20+ year glued down carpet.
 
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I did infinity everywhere including some snap out pieces in the cabin and my swim platform. After looking at some other boats the local carpet guy did I opted to not go with anything with lines because my OCD would overwhelm me if the lines did not math up.

2017072214_23_54-vi.jpg
 
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The Bill Collector said:
The Admiral would like some kind of vinyl plank in the salon, galley, and staterooms... I can't wait to start scraping up 20+ year glued down carpet.
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2 words: Harbor Freight. Took my entire salon carpet up in one piece, which became my template for the Allure flooring.
carpet remover.jpg
 
Blueone said:
We did infinity this year. I went with velcro to hold it in place but have yet to stick it to the floor it stays in place as is

I don’t think I would put it in the salon but it would be easy maintenance

View attachment 90538 View attachment 90539 View attachment 90540
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Looks like the same Infinity we just got. 554. We were tempted to get SeaDek but this was a bit cheaper and not permanent...cheaper as in $1,000 vs $1,500....another benefit is I can pull it up when it gets winterized, keeping it clean.
 
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yobub said:
We have been having this exact conversation in our household. Please keep me posted about what a pain in the ass it is.
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If you have to ask...you know the answer. It’s the hatches that would be a problem for me
 
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Little Ducky said:
I did infinity everywhere including some snap out pieces in the cabin and my swim platform. After looking at some other boats the local carpet guy did I opted to not go with anything with lines because my OCD would overwhelm me if the lines did not math up.

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Did someone come out to fit it?
 
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